{"id":3764,"date":"2022-04-02T20:34:10","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T20:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/some-good-news-from-oscar-season-how-big-studios-supported-questlove-and-hamaguchi-column-yahoo-entertainment\/"},"modified":"2022-04-02T20:34:10","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T20:34:10","slug":"some-good-news-from-oscar-season-how-big-studios-supported-questlove-and-hamaguchi-column-yahoo-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/04\/02\/some-good-news-from-oscar-season-how-big-studios-supported-questlove-and-hamaguchi-column-yahoo-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Good News from Oscar Season: How Big Studios Supported Questlove and Hamaguchi (Column) – Yahoo Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHollywood died last night.\u201d Of all the texts that engulfed my phone in the aftermath of the 2022 Oscar ceremony, it was this one sent to me by a veteran filmmaker that stood out. And sure, watching an iconic performer smack another one in real time as it was broadcast to millions certainly felt like an implosion of the industry\u2019s confidence in itself. But this optimist, who writes a weekly column about sustainability<\/a> rather than self-destruction, saw silver linings.
Lost in the discourse about poor Ahmir \u201cQuestlove\u201d Thompson accepting his Best Documentary Oscar for \u201cSummer of Soul<\/a>\u201d after all that<\/em>, or the inanity of cutting off poor Ryusuke Hamaguchi with premature music in the midst of his Best International Feature acceptance speech for \u201cDrive My Car<\/a>,\u201d is that both men thanked modest studio divisions that deserve more attention in the film community. Buried in the beast of major conglomerates in the midst of the streaming wars, there is hope.
More from IndieWire<\/strong>
Will Smith Is Gone, but the Academy Hasn't Even Begun to Deal with the Sting of His Slap<\/a>
Daniel Radcliffe Is 'Dramatically Bored' by Everyone Weighing in on Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock<\/a>
Onyx Collective<\/a>, the Hulu-centric division of Disney that handled \u201cSummer of Soul,\u201d and WarnerMedia OneFifty, the content innovation hub at WarnerMedia that acquired \u201cDrive My Car\u201d for HBO Max, both received shoutouts for their respective wins. And while they differ in crucial ways, they both support diverse narratives while providing a gateway for emerging talent with studio resources.
\u00a9Searchlight Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span>
As the VOD space continues to fuel the independent sector<\/a> while the theatrical business flounders, it creates acquisitions opportunities. Onyx and WarnerMedia OneFifty function as extensions of the specialty divisions that once welcomed diverse, edgy storytelling like Picturehouse, Warner Independent, and Paramount Vantage. (The only remaining specialty divisions of that sort still kicking are Sony Pictures Classics, Searchlight, and Universal\u2019s Focus Features.) Those entities adhered to the same business metrics as their larger studio homes; these newcomers are leveraging the streaming business to create a commercial conduit for diverse storytelling that might not otherwise exist.
Onyx Collective launched last spring as a \u201cHulu content brand for creators of color and underrepresented voices,\u201d as a press release put it at the time. Its very existence has been the subject of envy across the Disney landscape. Last month, when LGBTQ staffers at the studio sent an open letter to CEO Bob Chapek<\/a> with multiple requests for change, they mentioned Onyx as a model for how the studio could amplify additional marginalized voices.
The day before the Oscars<\/a>, I attended a lunch for \u201cSummer of Soul\u201d at the home of Disney executive Dana Walden that doubled as a salute to Onyx Collective\u2019s swift progress over the last year. Chapek was there, and it seemed clear that the studio saw the division as a critical resource on several fronts. In addition to its acquisitions, Onyx Collective houses all \u201cnon-Marvel\u201d projects by Marvel directors Ryan Coogler and Destin Daniel Cretton as part of their overall deals with the studio; this strikes me as an essential safeguard against the threat of talented directors getting consumed by big paycheck gigs<\/a>, and mitigates the potential creative risks of new filmmakers taking on these projects when they come up.
Tara Duncan, who leads the division in addition to overseeing Disney\u2019s Freeform cable channel, told me that her main focus is television \u2014 they\u2019re currently in production on Roger Ross Williams\u2019 \u201cThe 1619 Project\u201d \u2014 but their resources hold enormous potential for festival breakouts.
Freeform<\/span>
For Duncan, Onyx was a natural result of the work she did as a consultant for Hulu. \u201cWe wanted [a name] that felt bold, loud, distinct but also harks back to our ethos of championing artists of color,\u201d she told me in a phone interview this week. \u201cOnxy Collective\u201d refers to a smooth black healing stone (though they sometimes come in other colors, as Duncan was quick to point out). \u201cIt\u2019s a stone found naturally in the Earth that is rare and premium,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was the idea we kept coming back to.\u201d
It was Onyx that first flagged \u201cSummer of Soul\u201d as a worthy acquisition ahead of its 2020 Sundance debut, when it was still titled \u201cBlack Woodstock.\u201d Searchlight, also scouring the festival for acquisitions, handled theatrical. \u201cJust seeing that sea of black faces and knowing this was a directorial debut really checked every box we wanted for our brand,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cI can\u2019t overstate the significance of having a POC executive team. We were able to define the significance of the film and make sure it got a global reach. It\u2019s a testament to the content itself that we were able to exercise all of the corners of the Disney company.\u201d
Onyx\u2019s small staff includes HBO veteran Jackie Glover, who heads up documentary acquisitions and this year picked up \u201cAftershock,\u201d the Sundance entry about Black women underserved by the U.S. maternal health system. The project was a joint pickup with ABC News. A deal with Onyx also guarantees international exposure on Star+. \u201cI look to the teams at Searchlight, ABC, Pixar, Marvel,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cThey are really the bar for us as we continue to grow and evolve until we are at the same level as our sister brands.\u201d
Duncan wasn\u2019t keen on comparisons with specialty divisions of the past. \u201cI don\u2019t think of myself as specialty or somehow in the minor leagues,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re just as major as everyone else. There\u2019s nothing more major than the Walt Disney Company, so for us to have the access and resources that the company provides for me isn\u2019t specialized at all.\u201d
Onyx Collective was one of many buyers that saw potential in \u201cSummer of Soul\u201d by the time it premiered at Sundance; \u201cDrive My Car\u201d is another story. Hamaguchi\u2019s three-hour meditation on language, performance, and grief overcame lackluster offers out of Cannes last year through an innovative partnership between Janus Films and the new entity Sideshow<\/a>, which leveraged the exclusivity of the critically acclaimed movie\u2019s theatrical run. That helped it gain traction with the Academy, which awarded it Japan\u2019s first-ever Best Picture nomination in addition to nods for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best International Film, which it won. Those nominations also helped secure a streaming deal on HBO Max \u2014 or, more specifically, WarnerMedia OneFifty. More than once, as \u201cDrive My Car\u201d circled the Oscar finish line, I was asked by industry folks if I had any idea what that was.
The answer is complicated, but it essentially functions as an investment firm that acquires diverse content with an eye toward bringing that talent in-house. That includes a array of short films \u2014 in addition to \u201cDrive My Car,\u201d the division also released two Oscar-nominated live-action shorts, the touching Polish drama \u201cThe Dress\u201d and the dystopian satire \u201cPlease Hold\u201d (both of which are well worth your time on the service).
WarnerMedia OneFifty head Axel Caballero said these recent buys speak to a larger strategy. \u201cWith 90 percent of the projects we\u2019ve acquired, we\u2019ve given grants to the artists to set up their next projects at WarnerMedia,\u201d he told me when we sat down together at SXSW last month, shortly after the division premiered a new episodic project at the festival. \u201cWe add interconnectivity to WarnerMedia by working with the teams at HBO Max, Warner Bros., CNN, and other brand units to build relationships with these artists.\u201d
Over the past year, that included filmmakers such as Talia Lugacy, whose improvised veteran drama \u201cThis Is Not a War Story\u201d was acquired by WarnerMedia OneFifty last year; her narrative project \u201cWhitey on the Moon\u201d is being developed by Warner Bros. The 2020 short \u201cRosa\u201d was another pickup, and director Suha Araj set up has the time-travel comedic feature \u201cThe Bowling Green Massacre\u201d (great name!) at the studio. Mexican director Miguel Angel Caballero\u2019s short \u201cAcuitzeramo\u201d is also on the service; it helped the director set up his feature debut.
These are nascent filmmakers whose sensibilities and original stories might not seem like natural fits in the studio universe. But WarnerMedia OneFifty creates a portal for that \u2014 and if you\u2019re rooting for an ecosystem that supports filmmakers at early career phases, you\u2019ll want to knock on wood that this is one aspect of the WarnerMedia empire that survives the merger with Discovery set to take place April 11.
Caballero wasn\u2019t sure how that would play out for him and his small team. \u201cOof,\u201d he said when I asked about it, considering the weeks ahead. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible track record that Discovery has, and that leads to an incredible opportunity for creators as they see many more outlets coming up. It\u2019s exciting to think about what the future could look like for an artist.\u201d
Caballero, who ran the National Association of Latino Independent Producers for four years before he joined HBO, speaks of OneFifty in almost philanthropic terms even as he\u2019s tasked with acquiring content that serves the broader needs of a company in transition. The division invests in 300 artists organizations, including the sponsorship of 50 film festivals.
\u201cOur tagline is \u2018the artist studio where innovation happens,'\u201d he said \u201cThe idea of studio has evolved over time, especially now when all of it is integrated in a certain way. We have the ability to connect with the bigger units.\u201d He also can bring a flexible definition to the type of content they pick up. \u201cIt\u2019s no longer a linear way of thinking,\u201d Caballero said. \u201cIt\u2019s a multi-content way of thinking. That\u2019s exciting. If it can be a short film or an episodic or a three-hour feature film with subtitles \u2014 well, people can choose what they really love on the service.\u201d
With HBO Max now in 51 territories, the global nature of the service adds additional options. \u201cAs we look at the different projects that are coming in, we\u2019ve started to think about the regions more closely,\u201d Caballero said. \u201cIt becomes much more viable to go after global rights or to do something more localized, to work with the Latin America or Euro teams to build artist relationships there.\u201d
Janus Films<\/span>
A cinephile who cited Robert Altman and Akira Kurosawa among his favorites, Caballero said he was keen on acquiring films that reflected the types of projects they wanted to support at the incubation stage. That\u2019s how \u201cDrive My Car\u201d came into the picture.
\u201cWe operate in this particular space very much in line with the work that other folks have done like Criterion,\u201d he said, noting that WarnerMedia\u2019s existing Criterion relationship via Turner helped \u201cDrive My Car\u201d find a home. \u201cWe see a unique space at HBO Max where people are craving something different. The incredible theatrical success of \u2018Drive My Car\u2019 translates to streaming. This audience base is really searching for something beyond just the bigger things \u2014 which are great \u2014 but we want to create that hub, a studio within WarnerMedia, for that type of content.\u201d
With Cannes a few weeks away, many in attendance may wonder if this year\u2019s \u201cDrive My Car\u201d breakthrough could emerge. Caballero is crossing his fingers that the new bosses will let him travel there to find out. \u201cI think we have a real clear vision that we bring to the table,\u201d he said.
With these companies on the hunt for talented filmmakers, the prevalent cynicism about the death of film culture seems more than just exaggerated; it\u2019s naive. On this week\u2019s Screen Talk<\/a>, I argued that despite the embarrassments of the latest Oscars ceremony, the awards season continues to be an exciting platform for cinema that just a few years ago was left out of that conversation entirely. And while show hosts love to joke that nobody watches the movies that get nominated\u2026 well, until we see some real streaming numbers, that\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess. But ambitious movies clearly have a greater chance of reaching more people than ever before.
Certainly the success of Netflix in supporting costly auteur passion projects suggests the audience is still out there, though that\u2019s one service that pulled back on acquisitions. Onyx Collective and WarnerMedia OneFifty suggest that all hope for the movies is not lost in the studio system.
Of course, vast corporations can shift strategy when an executive has a bad hair day, and I might be too quick to celebrate these particular opportunities without considering their overall frailty in the big picture. I welcome readers to share their own thoughts about the evolving opportunities for international cinema or how they would prefer to see the industry meet the needs of an unpredictable distribution landscape: eric@indiewire.com
Browse previous columns here<\/a>.<\/em>
Best of IndieWire<\/strong>
30 Disturbing Foreign Films to Watch, from Gaspar No\u00e9 to Takashi Miike<\/a>
New Movies: Release Calendar for April 1, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films<\/a>
'Song of the South': 12 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie<\/a>
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.
Click here to read the full article. <\/a>
Leave it to any country but America to render the worst possible horrors (both psychological and physical) onscreen.
Mo'Nique previously accused director Lee Daniels and others of blackballing her for not promoting the 2009 film Precious during awards season
Marilyn Monroe's supposed suicide is re-evaluated as a murder mystery in the Netflix documentary.
Longtime funnyman and Hollywood movie star Martin Lawrence took to social media this week, amid the ongoing Oscar chatter, to remind fans that far worse [\u2026]
The Hollywood legend, who turned 85 on Wednesday, shares four children with wife and actress Annette Bening
The Real Housewives of Dubai is officially set to premiere in June and Bravo has announced a brand new, diverse [\u2026] The post \u2018The Real Housewives of Dubai\u2019 announces cast, release date appeared first on TheGrio.
Giada De Laurentiis is the executive producer of Always Amore, premiering Sunday on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
It's fairly standard practice in Hollywood to lock actors into long contracts in advance any time they sign on to play a character who has franchise potential, whether the studio knows sequels are coming or not. If you're part of something that could be bankable for years to come, the studio wants you on standby so they can call you back for the next film as soon as possible without having to compete with other movies for your attention. This practice has, of course, famously applied to the Marv
Bruce Campbell shared a photo of himself on Twitter today adding the caption, \u201cI always feel a little strange when I work on a Sam Raimi movie.\u201d
A Rotten Tomatoes score doesn't make a vampire, does it? If you want to watch Marvel's 'Morbius', there's only one way to watch, for now.
We speak to the producer who was able to go back and revive Robert Wise's 2001 Directors Edition.
After an unplanned hiatus in 2020, the second year of Marvel\u2019s MCU Phase 4 adventures has finally begun. There are now a number of Marvel movies in theaters and new TV shows premiering on Disney Plus on a regular basis. Marvel is likely planning big crossovers in the near future as well. Several Avengers will \u2026 The post Marvel spent over $1 billion on Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame appeared first on BGR.
The inclusion of man\u2019s best friend in a motion picture isn\u2019t by itself a guarantee of success or ratings supremacy. But as the case of Netflix\u2019s original drama Rescued by Ruby shows, a heartwarming story built around a furry, adorable good boy is oftentimes more than enough to get people to watch. In fact, as \u2026 The post This heartwarming new Netflix original movie has a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes appeared first on BGR.
'Jeopardy!' fans noticed Ken Jennings is not hosting on the quiz show anymore and Mayim Bialik returned to the lectern. 'Jeopardy!' viewers reacted to the unexpected switch-up.
ABC is trimming down its lineup of summer game shows: The network has cancelled its Match Game reboot hosted by Alec Baldwin, according to our sister site Variety, along with Card Sharks, The Celebrity Dating Game and The Hustler. (A source confirms to TVLine that the four shows are unlikely to return.) Based on the [\u2026]
A TikToker is sharing her list of the "biggest" ways to save tons of money at the movie theater.
Jennifer Garner posted a throwback photo of her fishing on her family farm. The photo got more than 1,000 comments, many of her Raggedy Ann T-shirt.
What do you think of this build?
\u201cI\u2019d hoped for some love and compassion, I truly NEVER could have anticipated the depth and breadth of the love we received as a family yesterday,\u201d Scout wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post Thursday
From Richard Linklater to Diane Keaton and Steven Spielberg, there's plenty of new and throwback content to stream with the Oscars now in the rearview.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHollywood died last night.\u201d Of all the texts that engulfed my phone in the aftermath of the 2022 Oscar ceremony, it was this one sent to me by a veteran filmmaker that stood out. And sure, watching an iconic performer smack another one in real time as it was broadcast to millions certainly felt like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}